I finally did it

Well I finally worked my way down on my to do list to the one that said, PRINT OFF BLOG BOOKS FOR THE PAST TWO YEARS.  I am thankful to Lisa for turning me on to the sight I used which was so easy it honestly took me about 15 minutes to print 2010 and 2011.  Seriously I should have moved this job up on the to do list since some others before it took me way longer than 15 minutes.  I like doing the blog but honestly I love getting the books even more.  I looked through them both and laughed, cried, and overall enjoyed the journey we have been on as a family.  Here they are the big reveal -- 

Preferences

Last summer I thought it was so funny to watch Symeon and Marin eat watermelon.  They start the same way but the end product is really different.  We bought our first watermelon after weeks of begging in the grocery store and to be honest it wasn't that bad for being so early.  I was curious to see what would happen this summer if they would both stay true to their watermelon eating habits of last summer and the answer is yes.  Can you guess which kid ate which piece?  If you guessed Marin ate all the pink almost to the green skin and Symeon left a ton of pink so as not to get to close to the green rind you are correct.  I grabbed this piece of Symeon's before Marin could finish cleaning it off.  She usually waits until he is done and then cleans ups his pieces as well no reason to let good watermelon go to waste. 

Strep Throat

A couple of weeks ago we all had strep throat and I forgot how painful it is I mean it hurt so much I could not turn my head.  It has been at least 15 plus years since I had it and poor Shawn had never had it so he was down for the count.  We had guests so honestly I continued my normal activities showing people around, taking care of kids, and the list goes on I popped some ibuprofen and off I went. 

Symeon came down with it first or so we thing?!  He ran a 103 fever for several days and vomited a few times fyi vomiting can be a symptom of strep in kids I was glad I knew that since his symptoms did not add up to the flu so I figured strep.  He was so sad it was hard to watch but after one dose of antibiotic he improved greatly.  Next was me like I said miserable but mobile when I went to the doctor the short test said I didn't have it but the long test said I did so I was miserable for an extra 24 hours with a virus which was anything but a virus.  Once again within one does of my antibiotic I was feeling so much better.  Then Shawn came down with it and since he never gets anything I knew it was going to be bad and it was.  He laid in bed which is unheard of and when he went to the doctor he got a shot instead of pills and it took 2 more days to see any major improvement.  It was terrible he insists I wasn't as sick as him or else I would have been laying down as well and I insist I just have way more practice being sick so I manage a bit better than him.

So you might be wondering about Babes well so were we in the midst of major illness, high fevers, and even Shawn being sick she continued to be fever free and happy go lucky as usual.  I found this a bit hard to believe so I took her just to make sure well low and behold Babes had strep but she has not symptoms I mean it not one.  No fever, no throat pain nothing eating happy and on her way.  The doctor chuckled and said I think you have a carrier on  your hands which if you are like me I had not idea what she meant.  Our dear sweet girl carries strep and can give it to people but had not symptoms herself.  So they treated her with drugs and we went back a few weeks later to test her again.  We were lucky it was gone but we won't know if she has it again until one of us gets it and she sits smiling and eating while we are all miserable.  If you know our dear Marin being a carrier seems about right for some reason it seems to fit her and everyone I told laughed and said the same thing.  My Dad said she like typhoid Mary taking care of the people who were ill and all the time being the carrier giving it to everyone and never getting sick.  Marin is prone to nick names but I am going to avoid Typhoid Mary although the shoe fits. 

Just a regular breakfast day

Symeon is really into waffles right now so he eats them pretty much every morning for breakfast.  I think the draw is that he can make them himself considering he loves frozen waffles. 

Marin still loves to have tea parties so on this particular morning she talked Shawn into having a tea party while they ate their breakfasts.  Sweet times in the morning!  (At least on this particular day our mornings can be a bit rowdy to say the least but I will bask in this particular sweet morning as a family so regular and so blessed.)

Symeon helping Marin get ready for Spring

He did a really great job and she held really still for the process.  They were sweet Marin only wanted her brother to paint her nails and he was more than willing to oblige.

Happy Easter

Easter weekend was beautiful here in the city and we enjoyed every minute of it as a family.  Good Friday was a laid back day and I attended the service at our church and although I feel asleep during the dark, warm, quiet part which seemed okay to me since there was no staying awake.  In general I think my overall sleep deprivation of the past 2 months is catching up to me because if it is a bit quiet, a little warm, and even a bit dark I am asleep.  God had my back and understood so no worries on my part.  I had to do the head in my hands with my elbows on my knees so I didn't fall out of the pew so you know it was bad.  I got a good laugh at it on the way home and I am sure I was a bit entertaining to the people around me but oh well. 

Easter Sunday we went to church and I did manage to stay awake which was good then we had a few friends over for some snacks and an Easter Egg hunt.  I beautiful day to celebrate all that Easter means to us. 

 Enjoying some items from their Easter baskets.  Marin loved this dress that was in our hand-me-downs bin she wore it all day and wanted to sleep in it.  It twirls well so it was the perfect dress in her mind and she just looked so cute in it.  Symeon also picked his clothes.  I had a nice shirt for him but he asked to pick his own so I went with it.  He ended up in a 3T shirt and he could probably wear 5T at this point and in pants that were way to short as you can see.  He looked a bit like the Hulk busting out of his clothes but he was proud of himself and when he picked them I didn't realize they were way to small for him.  It cracked me up the entire service but he was one happy guy.  

 Everyone getting a reminder about Easter Egg hunting etiquette

 

 Babes and her best buddy S had  a great time and they were so cute together.  

 The youngest hunter found a few eggs and gave the candy to Dad can't wait to see him next year tearing it up.  

 The hunters were finished and the eggs were found.  So sweet!

 My two sweet kiddos Symeon had long changed but Marin was holding strong with her Easter dress dirty feet and all.  

Oh yah there were a few parents there as well. 

Oh the move

Well we are finally settling into our new house.  We love it and our neighborhood.  It is a work in progress but it seems that home ownership is exactly that I am getting in exercise in patience and unfinished projects neither of which are my strong areas.  I'm a get it done finish it type of girl like my Oma so honestly a home that is always in process is a bit hard on me but I am learning to live with the undone and enjoy the finished.  We unpacked pretty quick and pretty all that is left it to put some pictures on the walls so we will see when that can happen but we have curtains, new furniture, an island in our kitchen etc etc.  Our garage is clean and our guest room is set up (so come for a visit anytime) our bedroom still needs some work and the bathroom needs to be painted a different color.  Long story but the shower curtain I had did not fit the claw foot tub since you need three curtains to have any privacy so after about 2 weeks of a towel hanging in the shower window so the neighbors did not get a show I gave the old curtain to Goodwill since it had been discontinued and bought 3 new ones.  Overall the color is okay but honestly it will just not do but not bad only one room to repaint and it is the smallest one in the house. 

We are quickly making this home and although Babes tells me every once in awhile that she does not like her new house she likes her old house better overall we are all loving the yard, the space, and did I mention we love our neighborhood!  Here are a few pictures from the move.  I hope to add some updated ones once we get our furniture and some pictures on the walls. 

 Waiting for the movers.  We did not have that much to move since we had move a lot our selves but two very tricky stairwells and a king size mattress made for a tricky day.  Moment of silence the mattress we love and that was only 1.5 years old did not make the bending in half it had to sustain.  Much to our sadness we had to buy a new one and we just went in and bought the exact same one and we are so happy to be sleeping on it with the huge lump in the middle.  

 Entertaining themselves a bit during the move

 Oh the overwhelming dread of boxes everywhere

 At least Marin could cook for us which was handy on some very long days.  

 One way Symeon kept busy was building his fire truck lego it was great for him and me!

 Lunch break what are you doing keep working!

 After a day not to bad I don't think.  It look a bit warmer and moved in now but not bad for 24 hours.  Shawn and I both worked really hard to get the house settled because we moved in on Sunday afternoon and my Oma passed away on Tuesday so I was on a red eye to CT on Wednesday night to be home for her funeral.  We had about 2 days to get the house settled so Shawn could work and take care of the kids during the 5 days I was gone.  He is my Superman although thankfully he does not wear a full shiny blue body suit but the cape would fit him. 

I wish I could say this is right after we moved in but nope this is recent.  I have yet to find a system for organizing the entry way instead it seems to be the dumping ground for all us.  Any ideas would be appreciated I am just not sure what is the best way to organize this space just yet.  The funny thing is the rest of the house can be spotless and I walk through the entry way and I cringe.  It is better we dropped off all the Goodwill stuff and we have finished putting together a cabinet so the huge box is out of the way but honestly it always looks messy to me which is just not going to work.  We will see what happens another one of those "projects" which is starting to become a four letter word in this house. 

Building a birthday trap

One of Symeon's best buddies bought him a trap kit since he loves to build traps for his birthday.  The next day Symeon came to me with a picture of a trap he drew that he wanted to build.  Well we set out to copy the drawing and make the trap.  We had a great time and he was really able to communicate and build the trap in his mind which was so fun to watch.  Here is the finished product. 

 Here we are with the finished trap and diagram we used to build it!  He was so excited!

He caught an Angry Bird with his trap!

On his actual birthday

Symeon's actual birthday fell on the Saturday before our big move so we spent the day celebrating him but also finishing up our packing.  Here are just a few pictures of some presents and fun we had as a family. 

 Opening presents from our family back East

 A magnet set from Mom Mom that he plays with all the time!  

Shawn putting together the first parts of a marble set which took some additional time on several other days.  

The birthday celebrations continued

Symeon not only had party with some friends he also had one at school.  We enjoyed bringing in Angry Bird cupcakes for the kids in his class.  I love seeing him in his element.  It was so sweet when they all sang Happy Birthday to him. 

You can see Babes in the bottom right hand corner she made herself comfortable pretty quick.  She loves any chance she gets to be in brother's class. 

Conversations at bedtime

Both of our children like to ask me questions at bedtime.  I think because it is quiet and they are usually getting one on one attention from me.  Up to this point Marin has asked some simple questions about her birthday or one of her babies or her music class but pretty simple easy to answer well following in her brother's footsteps she stumped me with her questions tonight. 

A little background is that we have been talking alot about the meaning of  Easter and we have Resurrection Eggs and each egg has a verse and a small item to help talk to kids about Easter.  I was a bit skeptical at first but the kids have loved them and ask to do them.  So for example one egg has a cross, one has a piece of white linen, one has dice, one is empty for the empty tomb and so it goes.  With that background our conversation began like this:

Babes:  Mama Jesus died on the cross
Me:  Yes Babes he did because he loves us
Babes:  Mama they put that circle with the poky points on his head (the crown of thorns)
Me:  Yes Babes they did
Babes:  Mama what was the small stick for?
Me:  Babes they hit Jesus
Babes:  That is so sad Mama we should give Jesus a teddy bear
Me:  Yes Babes we should I am sure it hurt Jesus and I am sure he would love a teddy bear
Babes:  Mama how can we bring it to him?
Me:  What Babes? 
Babes:  How can we bring it to Jesus where is his house? 
Me:  Oh Babes Jesus lives in heaven with God
Babes:  Otay how do we get there?  Do you know how to get there?
Me:  Well Babes Jesus also lives in our hearts so he knows about the teddy bear
Babes:  Mama when I get big I want to get an earring in my nose like you
Me:  (laughing) okay Babes when you get old you can if you want to
Babes:  Mama can I have Cinderella cupcakes at my  music class on my birthday? 
Me:  Yes Babes
Babes:  Blue one with a princess crown on them? 
Me:  Yes Babes
Babes:  Goodnight Mama I love you
Me:  Goodnight Babes I love you too

I love the thought pattern of a two year old.  I am blessed beyond measure and although she moved on tonight from visiting Jesus at his house I am sure to here this question again just knowing my sweet Babes McGee. 

Symeon turns 4

Way back in February our sweet little Symeon guy turned 4 years old.  I still look at him in awe sometimes wondering where the time has gone and loving everyday the little boy he has become.  He is such a delight with a sweet hearts, sensitive soul, inquisitive mind, lover of sports, the arts, dancing, and all things purple.  He marches to his own drum and is not afraid to veer from the crowd to do his own thing.  He is funny, a bit fiesty, and at times true to his red hair a little bit of a fireball like his Mama.  He loves to dress himself and cares deeply what he wares which I did not anticipate from our little guy.  Accessories are a must, he loves bright colors, jewels, and to date he is growing his hair out so he can have a pony tail.  I convinced him to trim it so he didn't have a mullet but I say let it grow if you want we will see with hot weather coming. 

He loves all kinds of fruit, most veggies especially edamame, he loves plain pasta noodles dipped in ketchup right now and he would eat waffles for every meal if I let him.  I think he loves them so much because he can do the whole process by himself.  He loves Babes and they are such good buddies which blesses my heart on so many days.  His teachers loves him and say he is a joy to have in class.  He loves school and I love hearing about his time there because it is all his and he is the expert on it which has been really good for him.  He loves Adagio's chocolate chip cookies and has a sweet tooth also like his Mama.  He is quiet and thoughtful like his Dad.  He talks when he needs to but by no means does he need to talk all the time just like his Daddy.  Every year I see more of the quiet strength in him that drew me to Shawn.  He does not need to lead in every situation although he could and entering a crowded room of people still overwhelms him for a few minutes just like his parents. 

We adore him and feel privileged to have him as part of our family.  Symeon always remember that your  Mommy and Daddy will always make mistakes but at the root of all our decisions is a deep never ending love that will follow you all of your days.  Happy Birthday our love!


Symeon really wanted an angry bird/cake boss birthday party and I wondered how to bring those both together with the added challenge of his birthday being the weekend we moved to our new house.  Since neither house was in any shape to host a party we opted for a local bakery that does birthday parties where cake decorating is theme just like in cake boss.  I went with angry bird decorations and there you have it a angry bird/cake boss birthday.  He was really excited and yet true to character the day of his birthday he was overwhelmed and a bit anxious.  He said he didn't want to go and I had to talk him out of the play room so we could discuss what he was feeling.  He was able to tell me what was upsetting him and after we talked it through we were off to the party which was so much fun.

My Mom made all the kids cooking aprons with their names on them for party favors and then I worked every night after packing etc on angry bird themed goodie bags which turned our great but I don't think I even took one picture of them which stinks because they came out pretty good with a piggy balloon tied to each one. 

One funny note because it ended well happened that morning when I prepping a few final things and I stopped to answer an important phone call and honestly the only quiet place was in the bathroom so as I am answering some questions I looked into the mirror and I was holding the phone with my left hand and I noticed the diamond was missing from my engagement ring.  The tears started to stream down my face but I kept it together for the call.  After I hung up I cried then pulled it together again came out and called the kids and told them we were all going to crawl around on our hands and knees until we found it.  It was so sweet everything Marin found on the floor she called out I found it.  Symeon was very intent but then declared to me that he didn't think we were going to find it.  Shawn joined the search and as I made my way into the kitchen on my hands and knees I found it laying upside down a tiny point in the air right along the cabinets.  I could not  believe I found it considering at this point moving dirt and debris was everywhere.  A happy ending that will hopefully be able to be fixed soon.

 Babes McGee I think those sprinkles are suppose to go on your cake not directly into your  mouth.  It is hard to know how many sprinkles were consumed that day!

 Ahh what to add next!  My sweet little cake boss!

 A pretty serious cake decorator!

 One of our smaller attenders who could not do cake but loved sneakers

 Baby W.  loved the bib my Mom make him since he also was to small to decorate

 I love this picture of Marin because if you look close you can see a ton of sprinkles in her mouth!

  A good cake boss always has frosting in his hair and cake decorations in his mouth!  Symeon called his Oma one day to discuss with her what he would like on his birthday apron.  I was laughing so hard because he had it all planned out in his mind and he was giving my Mom detailed instructions.  It was a tall order but as Symeon will tell you his Oma can make anything and she did.  It had to be purple with his name full birthday date spelled out and an angry bird and his preference was the black bird.  Let's just say he was so happy when he saw it.   Thanks Oma you made the day!  

 

 A hooded angry bird blanket he loves and uses all the time.  Thanks Betty and Sophia what a great gift!

 The Angry Bird birthday cake!  It was sooo goooood as Symeon would say!

Babes McGee going in for the icing lick before the cake was cut, oh my sweet and tad bit mischievous Babes!

 

 One of Symeon's best buddies make him a trap kit for his birthday.  It was awesome and Symeon loved it.  Shawn and I were so touched by his thoughtfulness he really knows Symeon and took the time to find a gift that was perfect.  Thanks A. you are a delight!  If you look close you can see the angry bird bags in the background.

 Our dear friends Megan and Jeremy showed up with a gift for Babes as well and honestly they saved the day.  She was struggling with the present situation so a princess ball was just the cure for a tried Mama and a sad baby sister.  Thanks guys you are always so thoughtful!

 The terrific duo!

  Two tired parents and two sugar high kids but one happy family celebrating the life of one so dear!